Tag: Burlington

Categories
Quarantine

Kids VT Cover Photography

Look who’s on the cover this month of Kids VT–it’s my daughter, Remy! Its the June magazine issue and you can find it inside of this week’s Seven Days, June 10-17, 2020. We were rollerblading down on the Burlington Bike Path near North Beach and we went through the tunnel. It was almost like an optical illusion and I’m including the original photo below, which I shot with a fisheye lens. I love how Kids VT designed this cover and I especially love the Editor’s Note Managing Editor Alison Novak wrote. Here is only the last portion of it. She fully encapsulated the feeling of this photo. Please read it in its entirety here.

“The cover image of this issue, taken by Cat Cutillo on the bike path in Burlington, resonated so deeply with me because it feels symbolic of our world right now. We are in a bleak place, and there is so much uncertainty about what the future holds. Yet still we roll on, wobbly and uncertain, arms outstretched, with hope for a better tomorrow. That future is only possible if we work to counter those who espouse bigotry and hate. Let’s keep on moving toward the light.” —Alison Novak, Managing Editor Kids VT

Categories
Quarantine

Stay-School Adventures: Memorial Day Parade, Quarantine Day 73

girl whispers to another girl during Memorial Day parade

STAY-SCHOOL ADVENTURES: Memorial Day, Quarantine Day 73 from Cat Cutillo on Vimeo.

Watching the Vergennes Memorial Day Parade every spring is one of our family traditions. When we lived in Vergennes, we would walk to the parade with my daughter Remy’s toy ride-on tractor in hand so she could watch the giant tractors roll by while sitting on her own mini version. Last year, my son, Bo, sat on that same tractor during the parade. We have both created memories and also started to relive similar experiences every year at this parade — which is held to remember and honor those we’ve lost.

This Memorial Day, the parade was canceled. We decided to fill the void by doing something new.

Bo on his mini tractor at the Vergennes Memorial Day Parade 2019

Our family created our own mobile parade, riding our bikes and rollerblades on the Burlington Bike Path. It was the first week since mid-March we ventured into a more public arena. We went early and the path it was mostly empty. The beat of the parade was replaced this year by the sound of wheels on pavement. We pulled over at North Beach to look at the lake, staring out at the infinite space of possibility.

We have wandered off the map of predictability. With a calendar of cancellations this summer, there are no go-to events for us to fall back on. Autopilot is out of order. There is both sadness from that loss and relief that there is space now for something new.

Remy on her rollerblades on the Burlington Bike Path this Memorial Day 2020
Categories
Quarantine

STAY-SCHOOL ADVENTURES: Time Capsule, Quarantine Day 36

STAY-SCHOOL ADVENTURES: Time Capsule, Quarantine Day 36 from Cat Cutillo on Vimeo.

We’ve been circling the block a lot, going on neighborhood walks. This seems fitting because time itself has started to feel circular. Our mornings often begin where our nights left off, and sometimes I’m pretty sure I spent the day running in circles around the kids. This weekend we took a shortcut through a tunnel of trees. The lighting was just right and created a perfect shadow reflection of the trees’ long slender branches. We started talking about how trees grow from the inside and track time through growth rings that are permanently logged into their layers. The harder the tree’s winter, the tighter the growth ring.

“It’s a trunk full of history in there,” I told my kids.

When we got home I pointed to the coffee table my father-in-law had made when he was a teenager from the found cross-section of an enormous ponderosa pine tree trunk. We tried to count the rings on it but couldn’t make it past 58.

Having lapped past a full month at home, we started thinking about ways we could record our time. I brought up the idea of creating a quarantine time capsule to dig up in exactly one year that included each of our favorite memories over the past month. We presented the kids with a glass jar — like we were literally trying to preserve the memories like pickles — and told them to collect something for the time capsule.

My 7-year-old, Remy, brought out a toy rabbit in honor of Easter and swapped out the jar for a handmade, wooden treasure chest. My husband, Ross, put in a pencil and sharpener to remember working on art and school assignments with Remy. I put in my birthday candles, having recently added another year to my age. And my 3-year-old, Bo, put in a toy figure of Batman’s sidekick Robin and his socks.

I’m hopeful in a year he’ll be able to tell me why.

Categories
engagement

Kristen + Kevin’s Apple Picking Autumn Engagement Photography

I can’t believe I get to photograph the wedding of these two fun-loving people tomorrow at Saltash Farm in Shrewsbury, Vermont. It seems like just yesterday I met Kristen and Kevin for their fall engagement photography at Shelburne Farms and Shelburne Orchards. What an incredible time we had picking apples and using the cider donuts as a ring prop. They hit the absolute peak foliage in Vermont for their engagement shoot. I especially loved the backdrop at Shelburne Museum that we swung by to capture color. This couple is full of so much love and smiles, I know their fall wedding in Vermont tomorrow is going to be perfect.

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Categories
Weddings

Andrea & Jason’s Basin Harbor Club Wedding Photography

When I arrived at Basin Harbor Club, Andrea and her three bridesmaids were preparing a mimosa toast in their cottage overlooking Lake Champlain. It was a gorgeous, sunny day at the end of September and Vermont was just starting to feel like fall. After the ladies held a toast, they put on their dresses and headed out onto the cottage deck for photos. The wind was coming in unpredictably gusts sending Andrea’s veil flying as the ladies looked out at Lake Champlain. Meanwhile, Jason and his three groomsmen were completely dressed in the nearby Homestead Building after I left Andrea. We wandered around the docks and ledges overlooking Lake Champlain to take portraits.  The water was sparkling and it felt like we had Basin Harbor Club all to ourselves. Before heading to the ceremony, I bounced back to Andrea and we took some gorgeous portraits under the wedding arch, making sure to keep her well hidden from Jason. Andrea hopped in the backseat of her ride with her maid of honor and we headed to Vergennes Congregational Church for the ceremony. When Andrea walked down the aisle with her father, tears welled up in everyone’s eyes. Reverend Gary Lewis held up a magic 8 ball half-way through the ceremony surprising everyone.  Afterwards, we all headed back to Basin Harbor for the reception. Basin Harbor has such incredible photo options for portraits. We started on the Lodge Lawn and worked our way down to the docks with just Andrea and Jason. Their reception took place in the Town Hall. Their first dance had everyone smiling and their wasn’t a dry eye in the room for the father-daughter dance. The day couldn’t have been more gorgeous and was a true honor to be a part of. Congratulations, Andrea and Jason, and thank you so much for having me capture it!